34th National Milo Marathon: Filipinos defends turf

13122010

Image by C L E E ٩(̾●̮̮̃̾•̃̾)۶ ™ via Flickr

In the past few weeks before this years Milo Marathon, the Kenyans have dominated the major races in the country. The 34th National Milo Marathon was a different story. Filipino runners Eduardo Buenavista and Flordeliza Donos showed enough grit and determination to beat out the fancied Kenyan “invaders”. Buenavista captured the men’s crown by besting Kenyan runners Willy Tanui, William Kipyego and Abraham Missos. The victory was the third Milo Marathon crown for the many-time SEA games gold medallist. It was also a redemption for him after finishing a disappointing 17th in the recently concluded Asian Games. He finished the 42 kilometer run in two hours, 24 minutes, 18 second. Tanui and Kipyego completed the podium finishers in the men’s side.

In the distaff side, University of Baguio alum Donos finished ahead of KenyanSusan Jemutai and Cebuana Mary Joy Tabal. The victory was worth 300,000 Pesos for Donos and Buenavista.

caloycomment: It is great to see that the Filipino runners proved capable of beating the vaunted Kenyan runners. It is also important that the athletes see tough competitors to be able to improve their times. The presence of runners from Kenya will definitely help in improving the performances of our athletes.